BEYOND BIOCHEMISTRYLAND

It is also true that each of the hierarachical levels interacts with one other. For instance, abnormalities of biochemical reactions can affect the functioning of select 

While it is often more practical to think at a particular heirarchical level, it is important not to get so fixated at any one particular level as to ignore the effects one level m have on another, as if they were separate and unre-lat realms. One must remember that the individual levels interconnect. Higher level personal-social situations can affect one s biochemistry, and biochemical changes can affect one s personal-social status. Things like beside manner, hope, and the placebo effect can have real effects on underlying biochemistry, just as biochemical changes can affect mood and behavior. 

It is better, where possible, to treat the root cause of an illness rather than a peripheral manifestation of the illness. When one treats just the manifestation, one may eliminate it, but this does not eliminate the many other 

There are many medical conditions for which a root cause is unknown and one has to focus on treating peripheral manifestations (e.g., treating inflammation in arthritis with antiinflammatory drugs). Even when a root cause is known, it may be difficult to treat if the problem is localized to a particular area of the body the medication may not only affect the problem area ir. the body but have side effects on other regions—for example, the side effects of antitumor agents on normal cells. When the toot cause is outside the body, e.g., smoking as a cause of lung cancer, elimination of the root cause can be both feasible and clinically effective. Hence, the importance of Preventive Medicine as an important influence on the hierarchical schema. 

Isomers are different chemicals that have the same molecular formulae. 

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